Hey Everybody,
Why do you come to church?
Some people come to church out of habit. It’s a good habit, but I’m not sure that’s a great reason. Some come to church out of obligation. They fear that if they don’t go to church, God will be mad at them or something. While I think attending church IS important…that’s not very good theology. Some people attend church for the content; they want to hear good teaching or music. I think these are good reasons to attend church. A church SHOULD offer good content. I’ve heard it said that “it’s a sin to bore people with the Bible.” I agree. Teaching should be engaging, and it should lead to life-change. People should leave church with something to KNOW and something to DO. The music should also be good. Music should inspire us, teach us something about God (in the lyrics), and stick with us so that our mind turns to God from time to time throughout the week.
But if you attend church for good content alone…you probably won’t stick with it. I mean, the truth is, you can find GREAT content just about anywhere. I work hard to present good messages week after week, and so does the rest of the teaching team, but if we’re honest, you can stay at home and stream better teaching than what you get at Believers. Well…if you look really hard, you might find something better. And as great as our band is, they sometimes play songs I don’t love. If good music content was all that brought me to church, I probably wouldn’t have come for long. After all, I can stream ANY song I want on Spotify or YouTube just about anywhere I am.
See, people who come to church for content or think that the primary reason for coming to church is to get content that they need to follow Jesus or be better at life would be better off at home. When content is King, the mission becomes finding the content that you like the best. More than a few people have decided that they don’t need to attend church to follow Jesus. They can get their content anywhere. And they do, usually at home.
But there is another reason to come to church: connection.
Connection with God and connection with others. While you CAN connect with God on your own, there is something transformative about connecting with God in community: praying with others, singing with others, and learning with others. It facilitates a connection with God that is hard to duplicate on your own.
Then, there is connection with others. Following Jesus is not a solo activity; it is a communal one. When I connect with others, it forces me to practice kindness, grace, patience, forgiveness, perseverance, serving, and generosity. In short, it teaches me and forms me to become more like Jesus. Those things won’t happen sitting in your living room. They can’t happen! Following Jesus REQUIRES connection with others.
This weekend, we have an excellent opportunity for you to connect with others. Because of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, we have ONE service, which is available at a new time: 10:00AM. We will be offering NextGen for your kiddos from birth through 5th grade. Our fantastic Guest Service Teams will prepare and serve a hot dog cookout so that you can connect a little longer with friends and family after the service. Come get some great content; we will continue our Family Issues series by looking at “mismatched marriages.” And come for connection with God and your church family.
Invite a friend or two to join you this Sunday. We’ll feed them for free. You know people who need a better connection with God and others. Invite them to find it at Believers this weekend!
Blessings,
Pastor Jamey
